Strip door systems, having a plurality of vertically hanging flexible strips with longitudinal edges in either abutting or overlapping arrangement, are used in many varied applications as a barrier in a vertical plane, to the movement of air or other matter, while still allowing for substantially free movement of personnel, equipment, product, or the like through the barrier by simply parting and/or bending the hanging flexible strips. Examples of where strip door systems are utilized include: entryways into coolers, freezers, heated/cooled rooms, and processing areas; openings of product display cases in supermarkets; and areas within a production facility at which fumes, particulate matter, liquid droplets, noise, etc. are to be contained. In an often used application in the food industry, the use of strip door systems as a barrier to the movement of air across a selected vertical plane, such as a doorway to a cooler or a freezer, can lead to a substantial savings in heating and/or cooling costs and reduce premature food spoilage.
Strip door systems typically are made up of a plurality of flexible plastic strips, often clear so as to provide a see-through feature, having a width in a range of 4–16 inches, a thickness in a range of 0.060 to 0.160 inches, and a length which can vary from several inches to any length required to provide the desired barrier. The flexible plastic strips are preferably hung from hangers having a series of evenly spaced horizontally projecting studs. With use of a hanger having projecting studs, evenly spaced apertures, which correspond to the spacing of the evenly spaced studs, are provided along a top edge portion of each strip and the strips are easily arranged on the hanger by inserting the studs through the apertures. The stud-type hanger system is preferred as the strips can be arranged to have a pattern ranging from one in which longitudinal edges of the strips abut each other, to a pattern in which portions of the strips overlap each other. With the stud-type hanger system, the overlap can be selected, in general, to be in any increment corresponding to the spacing of the studs. An advantage of the stud-type hanger system is realized when replacement of a few of the strips is necessary, as only the strips to be replaced need to be removed, while not disturbing the remaining strips. Depending on the amount of usage and the type of equipment passing through the barrier formed by the hanging strips, replacement of individual strips is usually required over the life of the flexible strip door system.
Various stud-type hangers are known in the industry for hanging the flexible plastic strips of the system. In a walk-in cooler or freezer, for example, a back portion of a hanger can be mounted to a header of an entryway to the cooler or freezer using some form of fastening means. The flexible plastic strips, having apertures with a spacing corresponding to the spacing of studs protruding from the back portion of the hanger, are slid over the studs using a selected abutting or overlap pattern for the strips. Next, a means for retaining the strips on the studs is installed. Installation of most known retaining means to the back portion of the hanger requires tedious alignment of the retaining means with the back portion of the hanger, then securing the retaining means to the back portion of the hanger with the use of fasteners and various hand tools.